Deaf Studies Program at Holy Cross Recognized by Worcester Consortium

The American Sign Language and Deaf Studies program at the College of the Holy Cross received this year’s George I. Alden Award for Excellence in Higher Education at the 40th Anniversary Celebration of the Colleges of Worcester Consortium on April 7 held at Worcester’s historic Mechanics Hall. The award carries a $5,000 prize. The Deaf Studies program was nominated by Rev. Michael C. McFarland, S.J., president of Holy Cross.

Founded in 1994, the Deaf Studies program has offered students at Holy Cross and across the consortium a series of sign language classes, plus a variety of related courses, including exploration of the culture, education, linguistics and history of the deaf community. The program, led by director Judy Freedman Fask with current instructors Ying Li and Dennise Scott, is housed under the College’s Center for Interdisciplinary and Special Studies. The ASL courses are under the College’s department of modern languages and literatures. Currently more than 12 courses per year are offered.

The program is believed to be the only one of its kind in the nation, unique with its mandate to actively involve the ASL students with members of the Worcester-area deaf community. Through many community-based learning partnerships, students in the intermediate and advanced American Sign Language courses integrate classroom learning with personal and direct interaction with members of the deaf community. Over the past 14 years the program has become an important part of the deaf community in the Worcester region.

“It is a true honor,” says Fask. “I was so honored just by being nominated by President McFarland. The fact that I won is a really nice bonus!”

The prize money will go toward supporting the Deaf Studies program, including money that will be used to defray the cost of transportation that students use to travel to community agencies across the region, and possibly purchasing a Mac laptop with video recording capability that will be used for assessment of students signing skills and creation of videos that will document the many community-based learning programs happening throughout the community.

The Alden award is the fourth honor the Deaf Studies program has received in the last year.

Last spring, Fask was awarded a Katharine F. Erskine Award for professional achievement and community involvement. Last fall, Deaf Studies was one of the three programs statewide highlighted in a video by the Association of Independent Colleges and Universities in Massachusetts (AICUM) that showcased the range of volunteer work that students, faculty and staff from independent colleges and universities in Massachusetts regularly undertake. Also last fall, the program was presented the William B. Swett Award by the Massachusetts State Association of the Deaf, Inc., in recognition of the wide variety of activities offered for the deaf and hard of hearing community statewide.

“It’s really important to remember that everyone involved in the program — instructors, students, administrators across the College, community service agencies — are responsible for the success of this program,” says Fask. Pictured: Judy Fask, director of the American Sign Language and Deaf Studies at Holy Cross, seen with her award. At left is Robert E. Layne, director of outreach at UMass Medical School and program coordinator of the Worcester Pipeline Collaborative, which received the Higher Education Access Award at the event.

Related Information:

• American Sign Language/Deaf Studies • Profile of Judy Freedman Fask • Colleges of Worcester Consortium